Obituary of Clara Koch

KOCH ~ Clara Elizabeth Koch passed away peacefully in St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at the age of 78 years. Clara will be sadly missed by her husband Norbert; children: Victor and Diane Koch, Joseph and Gail Koch, Orlando and Sharon Koch, Bernadette and Ian Poppleton, Aaron and Jill Koch, Michael and May Koch; seventeen grandchildren; five great grandchildren; two sisters: Beate and Alois Koller, Margaret and Robert Moeller; sisters-in-law: Mary D'Arcy, Bertha Klinger, Helen and Dave Weiszhaar, Dorothy King as well as numerous other relatives. Clara was predeceased by her parents: Helene and Anthony Roback; brother Victor Roback; in-laws: Frank Koch and Fran Koch, Lillian Krohn, Jim D'Arcy, Fred Klinger, Jack King, Theresa Toevs, Norman Toevs and great granddaughter Gracie Germaine. The prayer service was conducted from the St. Charles Roman Catholic Church, Marsden, Saskatchewan on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. with Father Doan Dong officiating. The mass of Christian burial was conducted from the Marsden Community Hall, Marsden, Saskatchewan on Monday, February 28, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. with Father Doan Dong officiating. The eulogy was read by Cynthia Germaine and Courtney Koch. Leader of song was Marlene Risling accompanied on the organ by Marcie Park. The trumpeter was Mel Risling. The guitarist was Sharon Koch. The solo sung was O Paradise. The hymns sung were "In The Garden", "The Lord Is My Shepherd", "Edge of The Sea" and "Here I Am Lord. The active pallbearers were her grandchildren: Vincent Koch, Karl Koch, Deidra Prosofsky, Jonathan Koch, Cynthia Germaine, Nicole Lee, Courtney Koch, Sr. Stephanie Koch, Erika Koch, Roland Koch, Christopher Poppleton, Daniel Poppleton, Kirsty Poppleton, Bridget Koch, Conrad Koch, Natalie Koch and Matthew Koch. The interment was held in the Wycollar Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY Clara Elizabeth Roback was born in Rosenberg, Russia on April 12, 1932 to Anthony and Helene Roback. Clara spent the first eleven years of her life near Mariupol, just north of the Black Sea. Clara remarked on how deep the top soil was and on the rare occasion when a stone was found, it became a toy. The family were victims of World War II. Being of German ancestry, members of the family were helped out of Russia to Germany through Poland. Sadly they had to leave Clara's father and brother Victor behind and they were never reunited. In 1949 Clara, her mother and sisters Beate and Margaret immigrated to Canada on the ocean liner Beaverbrae. They landed in Quebec City and after a couple of hours in immigration they boarded the train to Saskatchewan. At Muenster, the conductor motioned for them to get off but they were sure he was wrong. In Germany, Muenster was a large beautiful city but what they saw looked like it was the outskirts of the city. After they were convinced to disembark, they were taken to their relative's home where there was no electricity, no running water and you had to go to the outhouse in the bush. In Clara's words: "This country was so backwards I would have walked home to Germany if it wasn't for the ocean." One of Clara's first jobs was to work for a family with a lot of children. The older kids would steal Clara's letters from Germany and tease her by keeping the letters out of reach. In desperation, Clara spoke her first English words - "Son of a Bitch." She had heard these words many times and even though she didn't know the meaning she got the needed results. The letters were returned and she wasn't bothered again. Clara and Beate worked with the nuns at the hospital in Humboldt while their mom found work at the home of Joseph Koch. When Clara came to visit her mom and younger sister Margaret she met her future husband Norbert. A lifetime together could have been lost if Clara's German letters and Norbert's English letters had been translated poorly. The young couple were married in Humboldt on August 4, 1953. The "honeymoon" was a short stop to take a picture at the Borden bridge on the way home to do chores. Farming was a new experience for Clara. Not knowing much about equipment it took all of Clara's courage to tell her new husband that the wheel on the one way tiller was going to fall off. She didn't know that it was designed to run on an angle. Over the years the farm grew as did the family. They had six children; Victor, Joseph, Orlando, Bernadette, Aaron and Michael. The boys all played hockey and Clara usually did not go to many games. The one time she went to watch Orlando play goal, he spent so much time looking to see if she was watching that he let in six goals. The family has many memories of their mother, especially her cooking and baking. Flapper pie, cheelchis, birthday cakes, pancakes, hot mustard, German cookies and tarts were some of the family favourites. One Christmas Clara baked 400 tarts, froze them and put them in containers to store in the garage. Imagine her surprise when she went to bring some in and only a few were left. They were too good for her family to resist. Clara valued her religion and morals. She passed this on to her children through words of advice such as: - It takes all kinds to make the world go around. You need the ditch digger as well as the millionaire. - Never steal. Do not even take a raspberry from a raspberry bush. - Some advice to her sons going into grade one: If someone is picking on you just let them have it, there are no second chances. To find out if her children were lying she told them to look at the cross and repeat the story. Their respect for religion ensured they wouldn't lie to their mom. Life wasn't all about lessons. Holidays with the Groenens, Norbert's family and Clara's sisters as well as many New Year's Eve parties with the Groenens, Rehmans and Boschs were thoroughly enjoyed. Time was spent with friends going to dances, visiting and playing cards. Kaiser, 500 and Canasta were played into the early morning hours and all day Sunday after Church. Clara enjoyed being the life of the party. The family continued to grow with the addition of many grandchildren and great grandchildren. The annual Easter egg hunt at the farm will always be remembered by the older grandchildren. A minimum of six dozen eggs were boiled, coloured and hidden around the yard. The eggs were hidden very well. One was found half way up the weeping birch tree, others were found while doing yard work later that summer. Clara always enjoyed visits from children and grandchildren. A typical evening included card games and some exciting games of Racko, followed by lunch. In 1999 Clara and Norbert built a new house in Marsden where they planted hundreds of flowers and enjoyed sharing their garden produce. Coffee and meals at Marsden cafe, trips to the casino and visiting family were the highlights of Clara's later life. Clara will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. We love and miss you Grandma. CARD OF THANKS The family of Clara Koch would like to thank the medical staff of Maidstone Hospital and St. Paul's Hospital, Saskatoon for the excellent care Clara received. Thank you to Fr. Dong for his kind words and prayers; organist Marcie Park, soloist Marlene Risling, trumpeter Mel Risling, guitarist Sharon Koch and the Community Choir and the Marsden and Neilburg Altar Societies for lunch. Thank you to all who sent flowers, food, cards and donations. Thank you to Dave & Joel McCaw and McCaw Funeral Service for their care and compassion during the arrangements and the funeral service and for enduring an extremely cold day at the cemetery. Norbert Victor & Diane Joseph & Gail Orlando & Sharon Bernadette & Ian Aaron & Jill Michael & May Donations in memory of Clara may be made to the Wycollar Cemetery or to a charity of the donors choice.